Getting rid of cidery aftertaste

AntiCider · Post by **AntiCider** » Monday Feb 07, 2005 2:59 pm

Ok, I've read the FAQ's and though there is some debate I can surmise that in homebrewed beer the most likely causes of that gawdamn awful and undesiarable cidery aftertaste are

1) sucrose used as a brewing adjunct
2) brewing at too high a temperature
3) poor sterility

its still unclear to me whether dextrose and glucose can cause that taste.... but anyway, my first brew was meticulously prepared basis sterility including carbon filtering and boiling and I used absolutely no sucrose but it did use 1kg dextrose...

result, only a week maturation , great head, body and initial taste but a gawdamn awful cidery aftertaste. May as well have thrown some apples in there.

therefore, I can only assume its brewing termperature (was around 27 deg c most of time, but it may have crept to 28 or 29 for a while).

So then, is it possible to brew at this temperature AND eliminate the cidery aftertaste as well ? Or is my only solution to cool the primary fermentation ?

db · Post by db » Monday Feb 07, 2005 3:55 pm

in my experience dextrose will always give a slight cidery taste.. i could be wrong. but i've never had a good tasting brew using dex. (nor using maltodextrin or any of those brew inhancers etc.)
go all malt, or malt + honey.. much much nicer.

thats just my opinion anyways

Dogger Dan · Post by **Dogger Dan** » Monday Feb 07, 2005 10:07 pm

I am with db

Dogger

Post by **Oliver** » Monday Feb 07, 2005 10:18 pm

I'd give it more time in the bottle. You might find that those tastes dissipate. One week isn't really long enough to give a good indication of how a beer will be when it's matured properly.

Cheers,

Oliver

Jay · Post by **Jay** » Tuesday Feb 08, 2005 9:46 am

I'm with Oliver,

Give your beer at least 1 month before judging it. I tried my first two brews after 2 weeks and was a little disappointed with just about aspect of them (they were good, but not great). However, after 1-2 months both beers are sensational (especially my darker beer). Unfortunately I have gone and drunk almost all of them in the first few weeks after bottling when they weren't so good

to try and get rid of them.
Now that I've learnt my lesson I'm going gangbusters to build up a healthy supply of homebrew so I can let most of em mature properly while still having beer to drink in the short term.

Jay.

Dogger Dan · Post by **Dogger Dan** » Tuesday Feb 08, 2005 10:02 am

See,

There is my problem,

After a month all there is a memory

Dogger

db · Post by db » Tuesday Feb 08, 2005 11:28 am

& that fresh malty & hoppy taste has dissapated too.. but thats just my opinion. i prefer my beers nice & fresh..

Jay · Post by **Jay** » Tuesday Feb 08, 2005 12:02 pm

That's pretty interesting db, would it depend on the style of beer?

My first beer lost its harsh bitter taste after 6 weeks but I reckon that the maltiness increased. Maybe coz the bitterness was overriding the maltiness? I'm only a novice but it would be interesting to know the opinions of some experienced brewers like yourself.

To mature or not to mature? What beers are best left and what beers are best early on?

Jay.

Post by **Oliver** » Tuesday Feb 08, 2005 12:15 pm

Jay,

With regards to maturing, check out this earlier post:

http://www.homebrewandbeer.com/forum/vi ... .php?t=359

Cheers,

Oliver

Jay · Post by **Jay** » Tuesday Feb 08, 2005 12:27 pm

Cheers Oliver,

Suppose you just have to make a judgement call. If it's great after two weeks then drink it, if not leave and see in a few weeks/months time.

Jay.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tuesday Feb 08, 2005 1:20 pm

If it's great after two weeks then drink it, if not leave and see in a few weeks/months time.

thats pretty much it.. i always taste a stubby a week & drink when ready.. sometimes its abit dissapointing waiting for off flavours (eg. cidery etc) to dissipate because sometimes you'll find other nicer flavours also dissapearing - ie. hops aroma, honey flavours etc

beermeister · Post by **beermeister** » Tuesday Feb 08, 2005 3:32 pm

I had some pretty strong cidery aftertaste when I used a can of Brewiser liquid brewing sugar with a Coopers Stout tin...so I'm in the same situation...it's still young though, so I'm hoping that it will improve in the bottle!

Next time I think I will use some dark malt instead of sugar.

db · Post by db » Tuesday Feb 08, 2005 3:48 pm

beermeister.. 7mths ago i tried a can of that crap too... & emptied the last bottle of the brew i made with it down the sink about 2 weeks ago.

go the dark malt next time

Anticider · Post by **Anticider** » Tuesday Feb 08, 2005 6:41 pm

So, am I hearing that ageing/maturing might attenuate or remove the cidery aftertaste ?

Anybody have a positive experience ?

thanks

Dogger Dan · Post by **Dogger Dan** » Tuesday Feb 08, 2005 10:13 pm

Not I with the cider taste,

By the way, you can actually formulate recipies such that they don't take 6 months to get the bitterness to fade.

Just try using hops with a lower Alpha Acid, or, less hops.

I am partial to the consumption of the beer rather than the admiration of the bottle in my basement.

Just me though

Dogger

beermeister · Post by **beermeister** » Wednesday Feb 09, 2005 10:52 am

db,

Yes, you may recall you (I think it was you) gave me some advice about liquid brewing sugar earlier. What a waste, and to think it says "improve body and mouth feel" on the can!

I haven't been doing this long but I have already discovered the advantages of malt over sugar.

BM

AntiCider · Post by **AntiCider** » Wednesday Feb 09, 2005 12:30 pm

Well, sugar is f*cking history (excuse french) as far as I am concerned from now on.

Makes me wonder why "brewing sugars" are even sold by the homebrew chains... their claim is so long as its not sucrose (ie kitchen sugar) it should be ok. Well u learn something every batch....

Dogger Dan · Post by **Dogger Dan** » Wednesday Feb 09, 2005 12:33 pm

AntiCider,

Welcome, we have jackets also

Dogger

Evo · Post by **Evo** » Wednesday Feb 09, 2005 10:04 pm

Gold Dogger. I'm going to be using that one too. Who knows, in a few months you might have given me a whole personality. Can't bloody wait

Dogger Dan · Post by **Dogger Dan** » Wednesday Feb 09, 2005 10:10 pm

I can't take credit for that one. Kids use it all the time and they got it from Mr. Mike Myers off Shrek 2. At least there is a Canadian connection there.

Dogger